Google updated Google for iPhone (and iPod Touch) two days ago, with a number of new features and a new interface.
Customize the menu bar with your three favorite Google Mobile apps
Email pre-fetch and address auto-complete [Gmail Blog]
Calendar now faster and with a month view
iGoogle for the iPhone
I heard that Apple announced a new MacBook model - MacBook Air, the “world’s thinnest notebook”. Sweet (as in if I can get one for free), but at $1,800, it’s just too freaking expensive for me (and roughly 90% of the world population).
When Google announced Android, their mobile phone operating system, they promised that phones using the Android system will be commercially available next year. Somehow, still in 2007, Gizmodo got there hands on a photo showing a prototype phone running on Android, doing nothing.
Google today launched a new interface for iPhone (and iPod Touch) users for better user experience. The new interface looks more iPhone-ish and by deploying AJAX, Google put several services, including Gmail, Google News, and Google Reader (more) into one interface, making the application “fast and fluid”.
The guy working in the 7-11 down the street told me that 25% of Googlers in the U.S. own an iPhone. I also read that Google gets a truckload of iPods delivered to Googleplex everyday (a bit exaggerated).
Google Maps for Mobile has a new feature, “My Location“, that lets you know your approximate location on your Google Maps Mobile-enabled phone with a simple click. All you need to do is press “0″ on your phone to see your location on the map.
If you have a GPS-enabled device, this blue dot corresponds to your GPS location. At times, or if you do not have a GPS-enabled phone you might see the blue dot surrounded by a light blue circle to indicate uncertainty about your location.
Lifehacker reader tmobilewinguse said, “It had me within a half mile of my location which is pretty good for non-GPS.” Another Lifehacker reader commented, “Mine gives me a 5 mile radius. I’m somewhere in Center City, anywhere from 6th street to 1st street.”
I remember seeing something similar in a movie (probably The Sentinel) that the government use that to track down people.
Google today released the SDK for Android, the open source mobile platform they developed with the Open Handset Alliance. Before getting into the SDK, I have to say that the platform looks so sweet (on the touch-screen one), after watching the demo videos Google provided.
The SDK supports all three major operating systems: Windows (XP or later), Mac (10.4.8 or later), and Linux. In addition to the SDK package, you will also download an addition IDE program. The applications for Android are written Java programming language and the user interface information are stored in a XML file.
The API allows you to store and retrieve information from (SQLite) databases, and files locally and from the Internet, as well as requesting permissions to make phone calls, read/write contacts, receive SMS, capture images from the phone camera, and so on.
Creating applications take time, that’s why Google is having a contest - Android Developer Challenge - to award programmers with the “most promising entries” of up to $300,000.
We welcome all types of applications but are looking to reward innovative, useful apps that make use of Android’s capabilities to deliver a better mobile experience.
You can submit your applications between January 2 and March 3, 2008, but you sure can start developing your applications now. (Also check out the developers blog if you are interested)
I have plenty of (good) ideas and probably can build some nice little applications for the contest, but gosh, I am under the legal age lol. :)
As I said earlier, the system is based on Linux and that it will be open source under the Apache v2 license. Also, it will support third party applications with a SDK, which will be available on November 12 - but the phones deploying Android won’t be commercially available until the second half of 2008.
[Android allows applications to] call upon any of the phone’s core functionality such as making calls, sending text messages, or using the camera, allowing developers to create richer and more cohesive experiences for users.
[the conversation mentioned: Al Gore - Buy Al Gore on eBay] Severalnewssites suggested that Google is going to announce the secretive mobile phone operating system that they have been working on at a press conference tomorrow, also the “alliance with multiple wireless service providers and handset vendors.” [Reuters]
The reports say that the operating system is based on the open source Linux codes, and it will will include many of Google’s own services and it supports third-party applications (SDK and/or API?).
Even if Google does announce the Google Phone plan tomorrow, the phones won’t hit the market until the middle of next year.
I am still a bit skeptical over this whole thing. I will just say what Garett Rogers said, “Only time will tell - we’ll see what happens on Monday!”
I (Owen Thomas) overheard a rep from Foxconn, the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer, chatting up a vice president at Google. [...] And when the Foxconn rep tried to pitch her on getting a contract to make the Googlephone, she replied, flat-out, “We’re not making a Googlephone.” [ValleyWag]
Or maybe she was implying that they are not making a Google Phone, but a whole bunch of them (e.g. millions). I still hold onto my belief though.
Google prepares to acquire mobile social network Zingku (never heard of it? me neither).
[Zingku] is designed from the mobile phone, outward, allowing you to create and exchange things of interest ranging from invitations to “mobile flyers” with friends in a trusted manner. On the mobile phone, Zingku uses standard text messaging features that come with every phone. On the web, our service uses your standard web browser and instant messenger. There is nothing to install. [Zingku: FAQ]
Like Twitter, I suppose?
Googler Dion Almaer have done a little review on this service last December. Now it kinda convinces me that GooglePhones/gPhones do exist. Oh well, it might be just a coincidence. :)
Probably not. They’ll end the moment it’s released, when everyone’s going to be talking about it just like the iPhone. Some say it’s called Google Phone, some that it’s called gPhone; some that it’s going to be launched in 2 weeks, some say it’s next year; not to mention that a plethora of relatively detailed pics are starting to emerge, not knowing which is fake and which isn’t.
People are talking about it like it’s for real, what the heck.
According to the GrandCentral Blog, one of their “smaller underlying carriers” decided to disconnect some phone numbers and try to port these numbers over to a “larger carrier partner”. Unfortunately, more than 400 of them could not be ported over.
Once they found out about this, they “provided a direct email link to help them with any issues or concerns they may have, let users choose alternative numbers more to their liking, and offered any other assistance that would help them.”
As you might know, GrandCentral revert back to private beta after the acquisition and you will need a invitation in order to sign up for the service. Well, now I have 5 invitations on hand (thanks to Greg Sadetsky), and I would like to give them out to my readers.
There’s no such thing as free lunch, so you will need to answer of the following questions and send the answers to my personal email account in order to get the invitation, first come first serve. :)
My birthday (MM/DD/YYYY)
My current residence (city name)
Name one non-Google Firefox extension that I am using
Note that the service is currently U.S. only, even if you get the invitation you will still need a U.S. phone number to activate the service. (they call you)
Well, time to show off your mad Google search skillz. :)
*Garett might have one or two left if you are lucky. :)-
UPDATE: Competition is over now. Thank you to everyone who participated. :)
